Intro to fitting 35s (< 3" Lifts for those that wheel and love alignments)

OK, Dad.

 

It depends on your use of the truck and build plan, how deep your wallet is, etc.

For myself, I always start with recovery so winch bumper came first, followed by armor, when weight became a significant factor I upgraded the suspension and I did so understanding the long term build plan, then got 35s, prepped the truck to fit, added a rear bumper GFC etc.

You can wheel the truck stock, I added items as their risk factor increased mainly because I was doing trails that needed obvious upgrades.

 

Well....what rim?

 

SearArtist can be a little raw. But his point is good. Get out there and see what you like, don't like, that way you'll find out what upgrade will be the most useful next time out

 

They're OEM wheels on earlier Tundras and Sequoias. I'm just running wheel spacers with them.

 

Fair enough, but that’s the point of doing it one change at a time.

Part of the fun for me is the experimentation. Changing things, testing the change, repeat. I also enjoy the process of getting unstuck after getting stuck. Each case is a small engineering puzzle.

 

I'm going to give you nuanced thoughts that you aren't going to like, because it's not going to be the easy answers you or others want to hear.

First thing I would recommend would be sliders.... after that, it's difficult to say.

I would recommend doing things slowly and using your truck between modifications. You might find out you don't even like offroading a brand new truck. You might like it, but don't want to run trails with a chance of body damage. You might just prefer to go on camping trips on grades dirt roads. You might have a couple kids and decide your Tacoma isn't big enough. And on the flip side you might end up doing trips to Rubicon, JV, or running Cliffhanger, Pritchett and area BFE in Moab. Each one of those situations will utilize a different set of mods to get the most bang for the buck. Most outcomes are going to result in losing a chunk of money down the road though. A lot of people say they are going to keep their truck forever, but after watching loads of people try to get rid of a modded out Tacoma after a couple years (or even months) says other wise.

A lot of mods come with pretty heavy price tags that aren't just the upfront cost, a lot of the "cool" mods come with frustrating downsides. Dual cases frequently leak, big ass aggressive tires are loud as fuck, kill mileage and rob power. Premium brand lighting is expensive as fuck, and when you factor in using only a handful of times a year are a comically poor ROI and they are also a target for thieves. Premium shocks require rebuilds, premium suspension components require rebuilds too. And the list goes on.

Be wary of the clowns on YouTube and Instagram. If they are gushing on a specific product they probably got it at some sort of a discount and in some cases completely free, so their opinion isn't worth shit.

Now, talking about 35s.... Most people won't even use 33s so there's no point in running 35s other than for fashion. Yeah big tires are cool, but like I already said, they have a lot of downsides and once the "post-install bliss" wears off, you're left with a vehicle that's shitty to drive around on pavement in. A lot of folks won't admit it, but a lot of people who end up selling their trucks, modded way, way beyond what they use their trucks for, and they just become miserable to drive unless it's in the dirt. If you aren't running technical crawling trails or blasting though the desert at inappropriate speeds with some regularity, 35s are a waste of money and sanity. The main reason my 2019 has 35s is because I put 37s & 17s on my other truck and didn't want to take the loss on selling the tires & 16" beadlock wheels, so I said "fuck it" and put them on my 2019. Once those MTs are worn down I'm going to get a set of mild ATs at the smaller end of the "35" spectrum.

 

I hear you and report back that these are all things that I have thought about. I'm still doing research and weighing options. I've been spending more time on it recently due to covid19 and the spring thaw here in Minnesota. March-April is dead time for many outdoor activities here. I am lucky to be able to bicycle (on the road), run, and do calisthenics at the playground.

When I first had the thought of modifying my truck, I had visions of the monster truck or at least a 6" lift and big ass tires that I dreamed about many times but never pulled the trigger on, but after a short time I learned I was naive and and then disappointed about what was feasible. I have decreased my expectations since then, but I am still the sort of the person that gets quite obsessed with their chosen hobby (e.g. I used to bicycle up to 125 miles a day carrying everything I needed, sleep in a tent in the woods, and then get up and do it again.). I am worried that +2" ride height plus +1" tire radius is going to be a boring change. Thus I am researching what is involved in going to a +2" tire radius change.

 

Hell yeah!!!!!!! I second everything said. Now if things would open up we would be wheeling every weekend it's time to hit the trails.

Add to that resale point is once you really start modding a vehicle you really narrow your target market in selling and they are smart to pricing usually and you have to find the right buyer willing to pay. All the mods are hard to sell as a whole and you'll loose money it's just the way it is. So you'll end up unmodding a lot to sell those parts then selling your truck.

 

Man the moment when reality kicks you in the teeth! Hahaha! Great post!

 

Or you just say F*** reality and send it!!!

 

I like your style!

 

Finally got them on. CMC, LCA full forward, seam smashed, and front top fender well beat in. Not rubbing on the street. They will still rub at full stuff on inner front fender well. That needs to be tubbed as I want full up travel for wheeling. Method Race 105s 17X8.5 Offset 0, Tires Kenda Klever 35X10.5X17.

 

Looks great!

 

Looks good! I'm getting an icon stage 9 lift, with icon rims (17x8.5 BS:4.75) and the same tires on a 2020 off-road. I was willing to do CMC, quarter panel trimming, and pinch weld flattening. I was hoping to get away without having to do tubing and still having nearly all the travel. How much rubbing is there without tubing?

 

On my truck I had about 1/2" gap between bump stop and LCA when tire contacted the inner fender with the tire turned in. after hammering got to about 1/4 gap and bump stop. If you don't wheel it wont hit. You can also put bumps in that have spacers to limit up travel. I just don't want to limit up travel.

 

Either way you're limiting up travel

 

I will be tubbing

 

Big boy mod!